I have a serious addiction....

and it is called Pinterest !!!! More about that later!! This weekend we had a fun and busy weekend. Friday night we went downtown to a restaurant/bar at the Marriott Marquis to celebrate my friend Mandi's birthday, I then convinced Evan we would also go out with them to the bars for a little bit after. Noone could believe we went out but we all had fun!!! Saturday of course was a football filled day. Bella may slowly be convinced to be a Husker fan, as each time Nebraska scored Evan called her his good luck charm and gave her "touch down" love/scratches. Saturday night my friend Courtney's boyfriend Jeff was having a get together and we went and made an appearance and hung around for a few hours. Sunday we woke up, had brunch and headed downtown to Mitzvah Day. Mitzvah Day is an event sponsored by JF&CS where they have different volunteer opportunities all around town that day. My cousin David was in charge of the tool bank activity, so Evan and I joined in on that one. It felt good to get out and give back to the community. As a "Thank you" for doing Mitzvah day, they gave everyone a $5 gift card to Yogli Mogli, so after getting home and cleaning up etc, we went over to David's condo for dinner and took Bella with us. We wanted Bella to get to know his place a bit before she stays there for a few days when we are in Cabo! After dinner, we all headed to Yogli Mogli, even Bella!!! Everyone wanted to pet her and play with her there, it was so funny, no one cared about getting yogurt anymore, once they walked onto the patio and saw Bella. She was so good to everyone - I guess the training is working!! It was a busy and fun weekend, but I didn't hardly get anything done around the house that I had wished to do, so I will have to get those done over the next few days before we leave super early friday morning for Cabo and then Birmingham!!

Back to my serious addiction ...... I cant stop, I want to make, bake, cook, paint, sew, crochet, and travel EVERYTHING I see on the site!!!!!! So far I have made one thing. It was SO easy and quick and cheap, and such a cute idea, and works perfectly for Evan and I since all three events are in different places....




Not sure if with or without the flash is easier to see so here is another view of it just in case!!! :)




I also have started painting letters to hang in baby rooms... to keep secrets from others, I will only show you one of the examples, but more to come, this has nothing to do with Pinterest, I was doing this before I found the addictive site, and hopefully it will pick up as more people start seeing the ones that people have hanging in their homes! :) These have an option to have ribbon added for strictly aesthetic reasons, as they have a built in hanging hole in the back of each letter.

The coloring of course shows up better in person, but here are the ones that have already been delivered to the recipient and that I have pictures of!!







That's all for now .... there is laundry to be done and a house to be cleaned!!!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's football day....

Around this house there are 3 teams we root for, if you were to ask us however, who each of us root for the hardest, we would have different answers, except apparently Bella, who has made it apparent today she would also side with mommy. Bella hasn't played with any soft toys outside of rope toys in at least 5 days. We think it is because of her teething. She has three soft toys sitting right beside the bed she was sitting on, and about a minute after the Nebraska game kicked off, all of a sudden some squeaking started. At first I didn't think anything of it, then Evan seemed frustrated, but not mad or anything, just confused/frustrated, I looked across the room, and Bella decided to bring Big Al out. I guess the girl just really wants us to know who she roots for :) Evan ever since has been calling her his little husker puppy - I think maybe he is trying to persuade her the other way, but something tells me, Big Al will always win over her heart! Along the lines of teams, Bella and I decided to have a mini photo shoot with the Arizona blanket again, which is the 3rd team we root for in this house. The toy we originally were using to compare her size to never came back home form boarding when we went to Chicago, so we are having to come up with new references. In clearing through some pictures I came across a picture of Bella on the Arizona blanket within the first few weeks we brought her home.
Here she is about 2-3 weeks after we brought her home....






And here she is today....










And here she is posing for the camera :)







Bella has had a busy few days. On Thursday training started. On Wednesday Evan and Bella had one of their "episodes" or really Bella had her episode, it just is after Evan, where she runs around chasing and biting him, and on Wednesday night even had him back into the corner, it lasted long enough for me to get my camera and document it! :)


















Good news, it ended in pease and love....






Thursday training started and it has been off to a GREAT start, we couldn't be happier, there have only been 2-3 nips and no crazy biting or jumping going on, if it stays this way, we will be VERY happy!!!

Friday morning, We went to Dr B's office to get Bella's last round of shots and her Rabies shot. Bella was an angel and LOVED playing with Dr B. Bella even told us that Dr B shared a special secret with her!! Bella was a bit lethargic yesterday, but today is back to her puppy sweet self, minus the biting and nipping, since it has gone on a hiatus! :) Dr B said everything looks good with Bella, she is now 22.5 pounds (heavy enough to set off the seatbelt sensor in the car). We went ahead and scheduled her surgery appointment to get fixed in early December. Dr B does surgery one day a week, so we wanted to make sure we got on the schedule! Dr B also confirmed that Bella is in fact teething .... we figured she was based on her different behavior, less eating, and ability to chew through a bone meant for 40 pound dogs. Dr B showed us where she actually has already lost a few teeth, and the new ones are in - who knew, we surely didn't! I guess she swallowed them! Dr B said to be cautious but that Bella was free to go to a dog park now ---Bella was really excited when I broke the news to her on the ride home :)





The weather was beautiful yesterday, so we rode home with the sunroof open and windows down, Bella thought she was pretty hot stuff sitting up big and enjoying the breeze through the sunroof and window!!




Bella also wants everyone to know she is a bit jealous she doesn't ever get to blog. Her daddy told her she gets plenty of attention on the blog and not to worry too much, but she is still a bit jealous, because she heard her Aunt Julie also blogs, and her cousins Cooper and Ella blog. She just wanted to check it out and make sure she really was getting the attention she was promised.....




Happy Football Saturday from Atlanta...... more on our fun friend filled weekend later!!

xoxoxo


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Pure Entertainment.....

A few random pieces of entertainment, all of which I want to be documented, so they're really more for me than for sharing, but will love looking back on these some day...

First of all, I always tell you that Bella thinks Evan is her favorite chew toy, and I now have pictures to prove that.....



Although from my angle you can't see the fangs, i promise they are out....










Uncle Nathan, your trick only works for a few seconds....




Next thing to be documented, is that we got her "official" papers in today... not only is her name REALLY "Bella Hello Kitty" , but oddly enough, she has one of the most "normal" names in her lineage......




yes, her parents' real names are : Roxin' Diva Tonight and California Dreamin

Mom - One of her grandmother's names was "red robin" !!












And finally, since my dad doesn't ever follow my blog, and well maybe doesn't even know if I have one, I want you all to witness what he did yesterday, and maybe I won't get in trouble for publicizing it out to the blog world! :) He and his best friend Ronnie went on an "adventure" on Mobile Bay. Ronnie has been doing it for some time now, and even got his own kayak, but apparently my dad was a bit jealous and wanted to give it a try for himself .... Thank you, Ronnie, for documenting the event for us all since we weren't in town to see it for ourselves!!! :)
















yes, this is an ALLIGATOR!!! Dad called me when they were at lunch after kayaking and told me he saw an alligator - knowing it would get a rise out of me, I was like oh wonderful, he said no, really, up close, we said lets go find an alligator and sure enough we found one right away, and tried to chase it ...... greatttttttttt, glad the alligator was more scared of them than they were of it!!!!!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Catching Up...

This weekend consisted of a great deal of football, a great deal of work on my end, and LOTS of puppy crazies!!! Poor Bella is in FULL teething mode. She won't eat her food unless we wet it a little bit she doesn't eat treats as quickly, and she chews the heck out of bones, and her daddy. Seriously - if I didn't think it would gross some people out or get grief from it, I would post a picture of one of Evan's feet. It literally has bite and scratch marks all over it from where she goes to chomp on his foot and he pulls it out and ends up with a scrape! We have looked up all her "symptoms" and it seems to be that her big teeth may be starting to come in, but we will be at the vet on Friday for her last shots and she can confirm!

Last week was a busy week for Miss Bella. The people we have decided to use for training came over to "analyze" Bella and really just talk to us about the options. The jumping on us and biting is getting a bit out of control even for a teething puppy,so we are ready to get things in control. We decided to do the route with 3 private lessons all at our house, and then we get 6 months of "drop in" training. Basically we don't have to be scheduled, and can go to as many or as few as we want/ fit our schedule/ feel we need. We also can call them with any questions we have etc, we think this will be the best route. We like the group training idea for socialization,so she will get that after the first three visits here at the house. THe ones at the house also involve 2-3 other dogs that belong to the trainer and he brings along with him as a distraction, but because we need help training her where not to go (into the deep dark back corner of the bushes where a) we can't see her, b) we have no idea what she is getting into , and c) we have no idea what might also live back there.

On Thursday night my friend Daniele came over, and brought her dog, Rex. Rex is a rescue dog and is so cute and sweet. He is like a little white fur ball. Bella was ALL about running and chasing and playing with Rex, but Rex man is a bit older (about 5 years old I believe) and is out of his puppy phase,and not as excited about running, being chased, nor doing the chasing!

I will leave you with several pictures of Bella and Rex, as well as Bella's new trick, which we ARE VERY PROUD OF!! :)


Notice Bella is in full motion, and Rex is just staring .....



My Cutie Patootie...



Checking each other out.... don't get any big ideas, Bella, your father already told you that you are too young to date!


These are the tricks of Bellas that we are NOT so proud of -- After she goes potty, shelikesot run and hide in the bushes, yes, even the sticker bushes....


Maybe if I hide in here , mom won't find me.... what you can't tell, is that not only is she in the bushes at the back of the yard, but she is at a whole different level of the yard, which sits on top of a rock wall, you can see the very top of the rock wall at the bottom of the picture...


Whatever you do, Bella, please don't jump .... here you can see her at the top of the rock wall.... luckily she has figured out the safe route, where she slides down the pine straw to the right of the tree she is behind....


Maybe she thought she would play hide and seek with Rex, but once they got inside, she still had PLENTY of energy..... Poor Rex man is saying, ummmm can someone pleaes get this wild gal from chasing me everywhere?!








Eventually Bella finally got a little tired and decided to rest....


And then shared her bed with her new BFF Rex!!!




This weekend while daddy watched ALOT of football ...... like over 12 hours straight :), Bella and I in our spare time worked on Bella's new trick. She still does not initiate the pushing of the doggie door, but she now I think has figured out how it works. In all fairness the door is heavy, and may be hard for her to still push all on her own out of the "magnet" hold position, but if i slightly push it just a little bit, she pushes it the rest of the way and walks right through, without any treats even! She goes both ways.. and she lets us know when she is ready to use it. SHe goes and sits by the door when she wants to go out, and she taps on the door from the outside when she is ready to get help back in! She got to play outside ALOT today, she loves just being able to roam around the yard without us calling orders to her and even loves just laying in the sun. We have had beautiful weather, so I surely don't blame her!!



Size wise, I will have to find an older picture for the blog comparisons, but here is Miss Bella taking up many more bathroom tiles in our bathroom than she did when we brought her home :) I am betting she is about 23 lbs now. Evan actually just took her on a car ride and texted me to let me know she is now heavy enough to set off the seatbelt "alarm" sensor in his car.... i guess its officially time to move to the back seat, sister!







I think we officially out grew the "small" bed, but she still likes it, so I guess it will stick around for a bit! :)


Hope everyone had a wonderful football filled weekend -- thankfully both Alabama AND Nebraska won -- no grumpy football fans in this house!!! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Bella vs. "Lee" .... Bella Wins!!

As usual, we were scheduled to head down to the Gulf for Labor day this past weekend. On Thursday evening there was talk about canceling the trip due to "lee" entering the Gulf of Mexico, but then it was decided amongst all families and friends involved that we would still go to the beach. Friday morning my mom called frantically at about 9am and said "have you taken Bella to boarding yet?!?!" I said no, whats going on. She said they all woke up thinking what the heck are we going to do in the constant rain at the beach, we can pretend like were at the beach and have a weekend of family and friends and fun here in Mobile! My mom said bring Bella and y'all come to Mobile!! (This is huge if you know my mom and her not favoring of dogs) Nathan meanwhile is enroute via plane to what he think is going to be a weekend at the beach!!! SUPRISEEEE!!! We called the vet (where Bella was to be boarded) and they did not have any sort of cancellation policy, so it was unanimously decided we would head to Mobile and scratch the beach. In the back of the Redisch/Robinson minds was, thank goodness for Cabo in a few weeks!! :)

I told Bella to gather her toys, she was headed to "Sweet Home Alabama"!!! I repacked slightly, as bathing suits would not be needed and gathered Bella's food, treats toys, a bed, etc. We packed up the car and were headed to Mobile!

Yayyyy, I get to go to Mobile!!!!




My bed, in daddy's car ... this is pretty cool!!



When we passed this sign....




This was Bella's reaction..... "borrrinnggggggggggggg" she told us :)







On our way down to Mobile, we made one monumental "pit stop". My family friend Bradley has been bragging about this BBQ place in the middle of nowhere Alabama right off I65 for quite some time, so we decided to stop and give it a try. All I can say is THE.BBQ.WAS.HEAVENLY. Best ever, by far!!






The table centerpieces were quite fitting for the environment and not so PC.....






After lunch for Evan and I in the car, a potty and snack/water stop for Bella we were back on the road and before we knew it, in Mobile.

This is Bella and I after our first "wet" trip out to the yard...






Uncle Nathan was QUITE excited to meet Bella, and Bella was equally as excited!!





Bella was even more excited when she figured out Uncle Nathan makes just as good of a chew toy, if not a better chew toy than her daddy. She also realized she only had a few days to use Uncle Nathan as a chew toy, and could chew on daddy more when she got back to Atlanta, so she took full advantage.






My baby girl all snuggled up in her bed after a wet walk out in the yard, she then was cold when she was wet and back inside with the AC.





A frequent scene on the TV throughout the weekend.....





So, mom, this is that "daddy in football mode" phase you were talking about...





My parents courtyard quickly started to fill up with water and flood. It even got pretty close to the top of the stop into the door, and the door threshold. At that point, my dad decided it was time to take matters into his own hands, as the water was quickly climbing, and the drainage system build into the yard seemed to not be draining.





The next thing we know, dad is outside taking care of the situation..... yes, he has water up to his ankles, an umbrella in one hand, and a PLUNGER in the other...... can you tell his father was a plumber wayyyyy back in the day!








Luckily the storm was just rain. There was no thunder, lightning or strong winds. There was just ALOT of water falling from the sky and cooler temps than we had seen in MANY months!

Clearly we wore Bella out, or maybe it was less downtime than her normal days. Someone was always wanting to play with Bella. Here she is passed out in front of her food mat. That is food on her mat. SHe refused to eat food out of the bowl while we were there, she would only eat it off the floor / mat. Silly puppy.






Here is Uncle Nathan trying to convince her to bite a toy instead of one of his fingers, hands, toes, arms, legs, or feet!!





Each morning Bella and I had a system. She would wake up and I would take her out, feed her, then take her for a walk. Even if it was drizzling we stil went for a walk because they help tremendously in calming her puppy crazies down a bit at 7:30 in the morning. Here is Bella after one of our morning walks ... we got drenched on the way back.... at least she is a good sport about it!!












The next part of our morning routine involved Bella jumping on Nathan in bed to wake him up. Luckily she usually wasn't in a biting mood at this point, and had only love and kisses for him......
Good morning, Uncle Nathan, it's time to get up and play with meeeee.....












Bella would then lay at the foot of his bed on his comforter until he finally got out of bed....





Ummm, Nathan, it's time to get up, Grandpa said breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, and I can already smell it from here!!





Ummmm, Mom, does dad always fall asleep during these "football season" weekends like this??!?





I'll take care of this for you, mom.....







Before we knew it we had enjoyed many fun dinners with family and friends, ate too much, drank enough, and gotten soaked by the rains.

Bella in the car on the way home...







I think we wiped her out...





On the way home we made a pit stop for Miss Bella.... a cute moment during the stop with daddy and Bella Hello Kitty!






Bella even got to ride up front with me for a little bit to get some time out of the crate during the car ride....







We had such a fun weekend in Mobile. Special thanks to my dad for asking to and being the one to take Bella outside in the rain so many times during the day in the middle of all the rain, and SUPER special thanks to my mom for allowing Bella in her house. If you know my mom well, you know she is not a dog fan, and the fact that Bella was even allowed in her house was a HUGE deal, but she offered and said bring her all on her own, and I think she secretly even is falling in love with her too!!! :) When family friends heard Bella was staying at her house, they about fell over, and she quickly told them "it's my grand dog, of course she is!"

Bella also wanted to make sure that everyone knew, that although her original plan was to be at camp, she was pretty excited she got to watch Big AL run across the field and watch the Tide Roll and win their first game..... her and Big AL loved watching the game together....







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad